FM
Biography
On his release Another Day (Eusonia Records, 2011), Zach Deputy demonstrates his remarkable ability to perform and record in multiple contexts. He proves beyond a doubt that he is a soul singer and a serious songwriter—not merely a “looper”1 with crazy chops, serious pipes and colorful outfits. Another Day offers another look at Zach Deputy and clearly seeks to help him cross-over into other audiences. Rich with ballads and mid-tempo humidity, the music on this recording is best described as soulful rhythm and blues, with flavors of Al Green, Taj Mahal and Stevie Wonder emerging in the swells, changes and modulations of the music, in the voice and even occasionally in the lyrical content. The record will appeal to fans of contemporary artists like Jack Johnson and Amos Lee, but the origins of the style and feel are classic.
As a boy, the music of Zach Deputy’s Puerto Rican, Cruzan and Irish heritage was cooked up in a South Carolina heat. The Calypso rhythms and folk songs of St. Croix competed with the R&B / soul of pioneers like James Brown and Ray Charles for space on the family stereo. As Deputy honed his craft, a unique hybrid of these influences emerged, ultimately creating the signature Zach Deputy sound. However, when Zach’s manager first turned producer Scott Jacoby on to some of Zach’s more funky, upbeat live performances, Jacoby simply didn’t hear it. The one-man-band live looping show features a more simplified version of Deputy’s music, and Jacoby was looking for songs, structure, changes, hooks, choruses… stuff that is nearly impossible to do by one’s self on stage with a nylon string Godin acoustic guitar, a handful of mics and a bunch of looping technology. Zach simply showed up at Jacoby’s studio with his acoustic guitar and sang a few songs and Jacoby was inspired—the urban-oriented dance album they had discussed was going to have to wait: he and Zach were going to make what they called a “Ray Lamontagne record”.
